Planetary cloth-napping machine.



D. GESSNER.

PLANETARY CLOTH MAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7,1912.

Patented Nov. 7, i916.

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D. GESSNER. PLANETARY CLOTH NAPPING MACHINE.

APPLlCATiON FILED DEC. 7, i912.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

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D. GESSNER.

PLANETARY CLOTH NAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-7.1912.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

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D. GESSNER.

PLANETARY CLOTH NAPFING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7, 1912.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

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lili? el?? l DAVID GESSNER, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PLANETARY CLOTH-NAPPING TJIACHNE.'

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 119ML To all whom t may concern Be it known that I,DAVID Gnssivnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vorcester,in the county of lorcester and State of Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Planetary Cloth-Napping Machines,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in planetarycloth-nappingmachines, and the objects are to provide a machine havingnovel features of construction which will result in a greater amount,and a superior kind of work than has been obtainable by such machinesheretofore known. I accomplish this through an improved construction ofthe napping-rolls themselves, improved means of mounting the bearingstherefor, better means for maintaining their napping-energy, and byapplying a more correct and better gearing for the cleaning-cylinders sothat the nappingrolls are stripped in a more eiiicient manner, and thevery gearinO' itself is kept intact much longer and runs smoother. lnthe past, whenever a demand arose among the textile-trade for anincreased output from planetary-napping-machines, the makers of themachines would meet it by simply increasing the number of rolls thatmake up the napping-roll-drum. rfhis necessitated a larger diameter' ofthe drum, because the additional rolls would form a wider circle andplace the rolls farther out from the drum shaft.

One fault common to all planetary nappers has always been the ballooningof the drum, caused by the springing or thr wing outward of thenapping-rolls in the middle, as soon as the drum began to assume somespeed. This caused the napping-wires to dig into the cloth harder alongthe middle than at the sides, if one wide piece of goods was run tiroughthe machine; or, to nap the inner edges of two narrow pieces, runningside by side, much severer than their outer edges, next to thedrum-heads. Enlarging the napping-drum diameter, therefore, aggravatedthis evil. Hence, the textile-manufacturer has been invariably obligedt0 reduce the speed of the nappingdrum Whenever the number of the rollsin the drum were increased by the makers, thus rendering illusory, to avery great extent,

the supposed gain by use of extra rolls, which, moreover, addedmaterially to the cost and maintenance of the machine. F or example, thefact is, a 2stroll machine, as built heretofore, does by no means doublethe work of a l2 roll machine, any more than a 36 roll machine does halfas much again as a 2aroll machine. However, by constructing a muchstih'er roll, that is proof against undue springing of its middle, andwithout materially increasing its weight, l ain enabled to run thenapping-drum of my improved machine at a very much higher rate ofspeed-and without causing it to balloon in the middle-than can be donewith the ordinary napping-machine containing many less rolls. Thispermits a very much greater output of work. Ey next reducing thefrictional wear of the bearings, l save power. And by increasing thehugging capacity of the napping roll belts and pulleys, l can maintain agiven nappingenergy of the rolls at an even and uniform stage, and withan ease never approximated before by a machine in which the nappingrollspeed was controlled ly mere belts. And, finally, by my improvedconstruction of the driving gear of the cleaning-cylinders, the flocksare more edcctually stripped from the napping roll wires, and the lifeof the cleaning cylinder gear' themselves, as well as of the wires inthe cleaner strips, is prolonged far beyond that of similar parts in theordinary planetary-nappers as built heretofore.

rhe invention consists in the improvements to be more fully describedhereinafter, and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed.

l have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanyingdrawings to be taken as a part of this specification and whereinReferring to the drawing. Figure l shows a front view of my improvedmachine with the central portion of it, through the lines C, D takenout, and elements removed for the sake of clearness. Figs. 2 and 3 arevertical section views on the line C-) of Fig. l, looking respectivelyfrom the right and left of said line C-D. Fie'. l shows a cross-sectionof my machine in a horizontal plane through the frames, at a pointslightly above the stripping or cleaning-cylinders. Fig. 5 is an endview of one of the circular napping-drum-heads containing thenapping-roll bearings and the bearing-ring encircling the same. Figs. 6and 7 show one of the napping-roll pulleys at' the end of a napping-rollin longitudinal and cross-section, respectively, while Figs. S and 9represent the central portions of two napping-rolls, partly inlongitudinal central section, as used, respectively, for wide and narrowgoods. Figs. 10 and 11 are details of the cleaning or stripping-cylindergearing. 1+ lgs. 12 and 13 snow the means for mounting the napping-rolldriving-belts; and, Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 17 show various minor details.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, and particularlyto Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, 1 and 2 represent the main vertical end framesof the machine, 3 and 4 the bottom girds, 3 and 4 the upper girdsconnecting the said end frames, and 5 and 6 are the main-bearings on topof the frames, which hold the drum-shaft 7, to which shaft are keyed thedrum-heads 3 (see Figs. 2 and 3), which carry the napping-rolls 9. T henapping-rolls 9, have end journals 10, turning in open l-shaped boxes11, lropped into and secured within square pockets or seats, 12, formedin a circle around the drumheads 3. The napping-roll journals 10 arekept in place in the boxes 11 by a bea-ring or retaining-ring 13,surrounding them and overlying the journals and closing the openings tothe boxes 11, said ring being made in two sec-tions fastened together bycoupling or connection pieces 14, secured to the ring sections by thescrews 15. This bearing-ring may sometimes be held stationary bybrackets 16, bolted to the girds 3 and 4', as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, orit may revolve between roller-bearings 17, held at the upper ends of thebrackets 16 as shown in F 5, its weight bein@ supn ported below uponother roller-bearings 19, held by pads 1S, fastened to the crescent iece20, on top of the cleaning-roller stand 21, (see Fig. 5). Upon shelves20, of the crescent 20, are placed the three-cornered hollow contactbars 22, (Figs. 14 and 15) around which the cloth passes in its travelto and from the napping-drum, as shown in a line of long and shortdashes, the direction of the cloth being indicated by arrows (see Fig.3).

23 is a napping roll pulley, the outer body of which is formed bysections of wood 26, in every one of which the grain runs radially, soas to bring only the end-grain to 3 bear against the nappingroll belt 31(see Figs. 2 and 3). These sections 26, are glued together sidewise andformed into two solid spool-likeV sections, slipped over the iron core23, of the pulley 23, that is keyed to the napping-roll journal 10, andvheld in place by the nuts 24 and 25. This iron core of the pulley hastwo oppositely placed central wing-portions 29, with holes in them tohold two pins 28. Holes drilled into the wooden spools lit these pins,when the spools are slipped over the iron pulley-core, and the spoolsare held in place endwise by the circular end-plates 27, screwed to theends of the core portion 23. A little strip of wood 30, is put over thecentral wing portion 29, of the core 23, to close the small gap betweenthe two halves of the wooden spool, so as'to render the wooden surfaceone solid unit.

The nappin0'-roll belts 31, which encircle the napping-roll pulleys arecarried around the pulleys by the rotatable spiders 33. rllhe belts aredrawn over and around the studs 32, screwed into the spider rims, andtheir ends are fastened to belt-take-ups 34, passed through openings 33located'in the spider-fingers 33', projecting out sidewise from thespiders 33, over the napping-roll pulleys. r1`he spiders carry la 1gesprocket wheels 35 and 36, around which pass sprocket chains 35 and 36,(see Figs. 2 and 3) that are driven from smaller sprocket wheels 35 and36. The small sprocket 35 is keyed to the end of a countershaft 37extending across the front of the machine and having bearings 37 uponthe platforms 49, and, 61, which extend transversely across the machinefrom gird 3 to gird 4. Upon the opposite end ofshaft 37 from the endcarrying the gea-r 35, is keyed the gear 38, which meshes with the gear39 fast upon the jack-shaft 40, revolving in bearings 42 and 43 andcarrying an expansion pulley 46. he other small sprocket 36', is keyedto a short shaft 44, which carries upon its opposite end the gear 45,that meshes with the gear 46, upon the end of jack-shaft 47, revolvingin bearings 48, and 51, and carrying the expansion pulley 47, which,like the said expansion pulley 40', is driven by a. belt 7 actuated bythe pulley 7, fastened to and projecting from the end of drumshaft 7,which receives its motion at the op-' posite end from the maindriving-pulley 66. The cleaning-cylinders 53, revolve in bearings 52,bolted to the platform-stands 21, upon the platforms 49 and 61. TheseYcleaning-cylinders 53 carry stripper-slats 54, which contact alternatelywith the nappingrolls, when the machine isset in motion. Said cylinderscan be adjusted upward and downward by the regulating screws 52 threadedinto the stands 21 and engaging the bearings 52, see Figs. 2 and 3.r1`he cylinders 53 each carry at one end the pinions 55 and 56respectively that mesh, one internally and the other externally, (Figs.1()Y and 11), with a two-faced gear 57, fastened to one end ofjack-shaft 58, which revolves Vin bea-rings and 61. At the outer end ofthis jack-shaft 58, is keyed the gear 59, which meshes with anintermediate gear 63, that receives its motion from the main driver gear64, fast upon the sleeve 65, pref- .erably cast in one piece with themain driving-pulley 66. The' cleaner-cylinder bearings 52, are curvedwhere they bolt to the platform-stands 2l, this curve matching thecurved faces of the platform-stands, which faces are made concentricwith the gear 57, upon shaft 58. Thus, when the cleanercylinders areadjusted, up or down, the pinions by which they are operated will rollaround their pitch-line and will always remain in proper mesh with theirdriver, which prevents their teeth from breaking out, or-wearing badlyor unevenly, as is the case with all other stripper-gearing that movesin a straight line up and down and is thus always 0E the pitch-line and,therefore, getting constantly out of repair, no matter how costlymaterial is used in its make-up, which causes a great deal of troubleand expense.

Figs. 8 and 9 show the middle portions of two napping-roll bodies madeof ordinary commercial steel tubing. VAs seen in the drawings7 the rollbodies are made in two sections, instead of being made in one pieceonly, as heretofore, a connecting sleeve, 9', being brazed into the endsof the two halves with a collar portion 9, in the middle of the sleeve,against which the two sections of the roll bodies abut when united withthe sleeve. Brazing this sleeve in the middle of a roll renders itextremely rigid and proof against springing. Hence, a nappingdrumcomposed of a series of rolls put together in this manner, will offervery much greater resistance to the ballooning of the drum and makes itan easy matter, even at a high rate of speed, to produce a uniformlylevel nap upon the cloth. When the machine is made for a mill weavingonly narrow goods, two pieces of cloth are run through it side by side.In such case the collar portion 9, of the sleeve 9', is not made Hushwith the outside of the roll, as in the roll used upon wide cloth. butthe collar is raised a little above the roll body, so that atraveling-ring 13', with a groove running around its inner circle, mayengage the center collars of the napping-rolls and keep the latter fromfurther springing in the middle. Ihile such a traveling-ring adds alittle friction to the running of the rolls, and may require, therefore,a trifle more power than does the machine made for the wide pieces ofgoods in which no center traveling-ring can be used, this drawback isfully offset by the greater uniformity of the levelness of nap, securedin this manner upon two narrow pieces running side by side.

Making the contact-bars 22 (Figs. 1d and 15) hollow triangularstationary castings, enables me to encircle the napping-drum with thecloth to a greater extent than if I were to use contact-rolls, becauserolls, in order to be stiff enough to present the cloth in a perfectlystraight line, would have to be of a good deal larger diameter. Thiswould reduce the contact-line of the cloth with the napping-drum verymuch. Moreover, by mounting the contact-bars 22, upon the crescents 20on top of the cleaning-roll stands 21, I can shorten them verymaterially in length. This is a very great advantage, for, if thecontact-bars or contactrolls had to be attached to the main frames, theywould require an extension of several feet, and this extra length wouldcause them to spring very much in the middle, presenting the cloth tothe napping-drum in a curved, instead of a straight line, as now. Bymounting the cleaning-cylinders 53 upon platform-stands E21 on top ofthe platforms 49 and 61, I shorten the length of their gudgeons byseveral feet, as compared with cleaning-cylinders that have theirbearings fastened to the end frames. This, too, is very important, forit insures a very smooth and steady running of these cylinders, withoutshake or tremble, which is not an easy thing to do, as the speed atwhich they re- .volve is a very high one.

Instead of lapping one belt around aseries of napping-pulleys asheretofore, I use two belts 3l, side by side, and fasten them atopposite sides of the spider 33, and in such a manner as to make themwork in an unbroken line by having the opening between the pins 32 ofone belt come opposite the unbroken middle portion of the other. (SeeFigs. l2 and 13). Thus there is never a moment when the napping-rollpulleys are out of contact with the belt surfaces. This stops the noisecaused by the momentary release of every pulley when passing the gap atthe pins 32 that is heard when only one belt is carried by the spider,and stops its accompanying jar against the napping-roll bearing.Furthermore, it permits the use of a much wider face of the napping-rollpulley, because one wide belt is a much more unwieldy thing to handleand will never have the same amount of grip upon the pulleys as twonarrow belts placed alongside of each other. I am also able to use aflatfaced pulley instead of a crown-faced pulley as is necessary with asingle wide belt. In other words, I get materially more beltpull fromthe two belts than I used to get from only one belt, and it permits awidening of the belt surfaceto an extent that would be impractical ifresort was had to merely one belt alone. By placing the bearing-ringT13- whenever I choose to make it movable--upon and between externalbear-v ings, it can, as soon as wear makes itself felt, be easily got atand readjusted to its original concentric position with the main shaft7, and by making it of more than two parts, or sections, it can beremoved or replaced in a few minutes without the aid of a skilledmechanic.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. A napping-roll comprising metallic tubular sections, and a rigidtubular coupling and stiffening member having its ends housed withinsaid sections and extending longitudinally thereof a sufcient distanceto provide rigidity to the roll and resist ballooning of the same, theportions of the said member within said roll sections being rigidlyunited thereto by a brazed joint forming an integral structure.

2. A napping-roll comprising metallic tubular sections and -a rigidtubular coupling and stiffening member having its opposite ends housedwithin said sections and extending longitudinally thereof a suflicientdistance to resist ballooning of the roll, said member having aradialflange projecting laterally beyond the ends of the roll sections.

3. In combination, drum heads having circumferentially arranged bearingseats, napping-rolls having journals seated in said seats, retainingrings surrounding the heads and closing said seats, and externalbearings upon which said rings travel.

4. In combination, a drum head having lcircumferentially arrangedbearing seats,

napping-rolls having journals seated in said seats, a retaining ringsurrounding the head and overlying the portion of the journals in saidbearing seats, and means external of said ring for supporting' the same.

5. In combination, drum heads having circumferentially arrangedbearing-seats, napping-rolls having journals seated in said seats.retaining-rings surrounding the heads jand lclosing said seats, andexternal rollerbearings upon which said rings travel.

G. In combination, drum heads having circumferentially arranged bearingseats, napping-rolls journaled in said seats, a retaining-ringsurrounding the journals of the rolls, and external roller-bearings uponwhich said ring travels.

7. In combination, a napping-roll drum, a cleaning cylinder beneath saiddrum, a

,driving gear meshing with va pinion on said cylinder, and means wherebysaid cylinder is adjustable toward and away from the drum in a pathconcentric with the axis of rotation of said gear.

8. In combination, a napping-roll drum, cleaning cylinders beneath saiddrum, a driving gear having internal and external teeth meshing withpinions on said cylinders respectively, and means whereby saidcylinv`ders are adjustable toward and away from the drum in pathsconcentric with the axis of rotation of said gear.

9. In combination, a napping-roll drum, cleaning-cylinders beneath saiddrum, a driving gear having internal and external teeth meshing withpinions on said cylinders respectively, and means whereby said cylindersare adjustable toward and away from the drum in paths concentric withthe axisk of rotation of said gear, said gear being mounted to revolveon an axis concentric with the paths of adjustment of said cylinders.

10. In combination, a napping-roll drum, standards beneath said drumhaving circular faces, bearings adjustably mounted on said faces,cleaning cylinders journaled in said bearings, and a driving gearjournaled concentrically with said bearings and having internal andexternal teeth meshing with pinions on said cylinders respectively.

11. In combination, a napping-roll drum, standards beneath said drumhaving circular faces, bearings'adjustably mounted on said faces,cleaning-cylinders journaled in said bearings, and a driving-gear havinginternal and external teeth meshing with pinions on said cylindersrespectively, curved supports, and bearings for the cylinders mounted onsaid supports and movable thereon, said curved supports being concentricwith the axis of rotation of said gear.

12. In a napping-machine, in combination, end-frames, a napping-rolldrum journaled therein, standards between the end frames, andcontact-bars on the, said standards.

13. In napping-machine, in combination, end-frames, a napping-roll drumjournaled therein, standards between the end frames, and contact-bars onthe said standards, said bars consisting of hollow castings triangularin cross section.

14. In a napping-machine, in combination, end-frames, girds connectingthe same, platforms supported by the girds, standards on said platforms,and cleaning cylinders on the standards.

15. In a napping-machine, in combination, end-frames, girds connectingthe same, platforms supported by the girds, standards on said platforms,and cleaning-cylinders and contact-bars on the standards.

16. In a napping-machine, in combination, a napping-roll drum, and acontact bar located adjacent the drum and consisting of a hollow membertriangular in crosssection and having rounded corners, said bar servingto hold the cloth in engagement with the drum.

17. In a napping-machine, in combina.- tion, end-frames, girdsconnecting said endframes, platforms supported by the girds, standardson the platforms, cleaning-cylinders, bearings therefor mounted on theStandards, and driving gea-ring for the oyl- In testimony whereof I havehereunto lnders mounted on one of the platforms. signed my naine 1n thepresence of two sub- 18. In it nappnganaehne, n combna- Scrbingwitnesses. tion, end frames, a napping-roll drum joui"- DAVD GESSNER.

` naled therein, Standards between the end Vxtnesses:

frames and having shelves, and a. Contact-bar M. E. MCNINCH, supportedon said shelves. C. G. HEYLMUN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

